


Varian and the Seven Kingdoms (A fanfiction)

by MinaMarissaArt



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010), Varian and the Seven Kingdoms
Genre: Adventure, Disney, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Kait and Anna are the orginal creators, My first time writing a fanfic, Post-Canon, Usually write orginals but I'm obsessed with this story, close to the orginal script but I might change stuff, v7k, varian 18, varianandthesevenkingdoms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24513250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinaMarissaArt/pseuds/MinaMarissaArt
Summary: Partially following the original script by Kait and Anna. This a story about Varian, who receives his mothers journal and follows in her footsteps, searching for the Eternal Library.It also follows Hugo, who's grown up completely alone and has learned to only look out for himself, but after meeting Varian, maybe he could learn to make a friend.An adventure about friendship and forgiveness. It's going to have plenty of angst and fuff!Not a romance. Sorry. T.T
Comments: 28
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1

The room fell into a hushed silence. Varian sucked in a slow, nervous breath. He ran a hand through his black hair to push some out of his face. 

“Good afternoon your majesty.” he said with a short and polite bow.

Queen Rapunzel sat at the throne, her husband, King Eugene, at her side. She held herself with the proper air of royalty, but there was a tinkle in her eye that helped Varian feel calm despite the throne room being surprisingly busy. All of Rapunzel's advisors sat beside her and her husband and the rest of the room was filled with curious peasants, most were there for requests from their Queen and others to see the test of the Royal Engineers newest creation.

Sensing the crowd's anticipation, Varian pulled a cloth from his nearby invention, revealing a man of metal. 

“I present my latest automaton! This one specifically for setting a table and clearing dishes.”

The automaton was a bit taller than the average man, but still considered small for his size. 

Varian flicked a switch on it’s head and its eyes glowed as it turned on.

The crowd stifled a small gasp and took a cautious step back. 

The automaton creaked loud as it made its way to a small table and a cart stacked with dishes.

Varian winced, crossing his fingers.

He caught a flash of worry on Rapunzel's face, but she quickly hid it. Eugene didn’t bother, gripping his chair and gritting his teeth, waiting for an explosion.

To Varian’s relief, the automaton easily grabbed the table cloth and spread it smoothly across the table. It then moved onto grabbing the plates, cutlery and glasses and started neatly setting the table.

Varian proudly addressed everyone. “This automaton can be used to set up a room for dinner and then once everyone's finished eating, it will clear the table as well.” He looked back to his creation to watch it finish it’s process.

The automaton reached and picked up a plate again before violently smashing it on the floor.

Varian sucked in a short breath. “Oh no…” 

Someone in the crowd screamed and the peasants quickly rushed to the walls of the room.

Varian rushed to his machine to shut it off as it wildly started grabbing more dishes tossing them around the room. Varian leapt at it, his legs wrapping around its waist and his arms around his neck. The automaton violently thrashed about and Varian struggled to keep hold. He could hear Rapunzel call his name and the guards rushing over to help. Someone helped hold the machine and Varian was finally able to shut him off, the automaton collapsing to the ground.

Breathing heavily Varian gave Rapunzel a weak smile. “There are a few kinks I still need to work out.”

She looked relieved that he was ok.

One of her advisors stood up, glaring at him. “What a disaster!” he growled. He was going to say more, but Rapunzel stood, holding up a hand. The room was instantly silent, the deep respect for the queen evident.

“I’m sorry Varian,” she said, her voice level and calm. “I’m going to have to ask you to stop working on your automaton, this is obviously too dangerous.”

Varian opened his mouth to argue, it was simply a matter of adjustments after all. But slowly, he shut his mouth and hung his head. Everyone was terrified. How could he possibly convince them he had things under control? Turning, he started gathering up his machine so the next person could speak with the queen. 

Rapunzel called for his attention again. “Varian?”

Varian looked back at her sadly, and saw the look of apology in her eyes. 

“Please don’t hurry off to Old Corona,” she asked him. “I’d love to visit with you while you’re here.”

Varian gave her a nod and picked up his things, leaving the throne room. Disappointment laid on him heavily and he quickly made his way out to the gardens, away from people. He heaved a heavy sigh, sinking to the ground rubbing his hands across his face.

“Well that could have gone better,” A voice said from behind him.

Varian jumped and turned to see Eugene. 

Eugene gave him a small smile. “How are you doing?”

Varian shrugged, staring at his automaton, sitting limply on the grass. “Guess.”

Eugene smirked, ruffling Varian’s hair before sitting beside him. “Oh come on kid, don’t pout over it. At least nothing exploded this time.”

Varian groaned, covering his face with his hands and laying back in the grass. “Oh wow! What an improvement!” He said sarcastically. “So much for being the Royal Engineer.”

Eugene watched Varian, amused. “Oh come on, you’ve been the Royal Engineer for three years now and you’ve done lots for the kingdom.”

Varian sat up just enough that Eugene could see him roll his eyes. “Oh, you’re referring once again to my one accomplishment, hot water for the kingdom.”

Eugene looked a little sheepish. “Well that was a pretty major feat of engineering.”

Varian fully sat up. “That was over two years ago Eugene! I don’t even fix it anymore, I have other people constantly maintaining it. I have nothing to show for the past two years.”

Eugene looked at him seriously. “What about that big time device you built in Corona?”

Varian shook his head. “It’s a clock, and none of that was my idea…”

Eugene cut him off, “But you were the one who insisted Corona get one and went through getting the blueprints and putting it all together for everyone.”

Varian continued to try to argue. “Well, yeah, but…”

Eugene continued to talk over him. “Or that alchemy potion thingy you made that helped a lot of sick people.”

Varian tried to get in another word, but Eugene completely shut him down, putting his hands on the teens shoulders. “Varian, maybe you haven’t done anything as world changing since the hot water, but you still do plenty of small things for Corona. Look how far you’ve come since you were a small kid! And besides! Since when has failure ever got you down?”

Varian exhaled noisily, but a small smile caught the corner of his lip. “Ok, fair enough.”

“I agree.”

They both turned to see Rapunzel walking into the garden. Somehow she looked completely different then she did back in the throne room. Back there she commanded respect and made even her bare feet look regal, but out among her friends she was relaxed and much more the person Varian knew.

She let down her brunette hair, it hung just a bit past her shoulders, having grown significantly in the past few years. Sitting down in the grass beside the two of them she gave Varian a caring look. “You’ve done many great things for us Varian and there's no words to say how much we appreciate you.”

Varian rubbed the back of his neck, his freckled cheeks red. “Thanks... I’m sorry about that fiasco.”

Rapunzel shook her head. “And I’m sorry to stop all your work. I know how much you love your automatons.”

Varian glanced at his metal man. “It’s ok. It’s for the best honestly. I should probably just move onto something else.”

Rapunzel comfortably rest her head on Eugene's shoulder, smiling at her friend. “So what have you all been up to in Old Corona?”

Varian shrugged, “My automaton and helping my dad with some spring cleaning… Oh!” He suddenly remembered something lifting his bag and digging through it. “While we were cleaning I found more of my mother's old diagrams!” He unraveled some drawings and laid them on the grass so Rapunzel and Eugene could see. “Look! This one is similar to the machine I used for the hot water! But her pressurization calculations were off which explains why she didn’t have much luck putting it together.” He smiled warmly as he stared at the precious pieces of paper. “It’s just really nice to know where my love for alchemy and engineering comes from.”

“I wish I could have met her.” Rapunzel said tenderly.

Varian nodded. “I wish I could remember her.”

Eugene gave him a comforting pat on the knee, being able to relate to him.

The three of them talked for several hours in the garden, enjoying their chance to catch up with each other. 

As the sun started to get lower in the sky Varian knew he needed to get back home. His friends helped him load his automaton into his wagon and he bid them farewell, heading home. 

He arrived just before dark and he could see his father anxiously waiting for him to get back.

“You’re late,” Quirin said groughly. 

“Sorry dad.” Varian apologized. “I got caught up visiting with friends.”

Quirin nodded, heading inside. “Dinner is getting cold.”

Varian nodded. “I’ll just put Prometheus away” He led the donkey to the nearby stable and freed him from the wagon.

“Thanks for the help today,” he told the donkey as he hung up the reins. He slipped the donkey an apple before hurrying inside to see his father. 

Ruddiger, his pet Raccoon, eagerly greeted him and Varian gave him a pat on the head before joining his father at the table.

They usually ate dinner rather quietly, Varian was pretty used to it, his father not much of a conversationalist. But surprisingly Quirin made a little attempt. 

“How’d things go today?”

Varian glanced up at his father, caught a bit off guard, but he found his tongue. “Pretty bad. Another failure with this automaton. I’ve decided it’s about time I moved on to something else.”

Quirin seemed to breathe a small sigh of relief at his decision. “Well... glad to see you in one piece.”

Varian ate a couple more bites before braving his question. “Can I look through more of mom's work with you? I’d love to see if I can find some inspiration.”

Quirin didn’t reply for a while, staring at his food as he thought. When he finally did, he looked Varian very seriously in the eye. “I have something for you.” Without a word more, he got up and left the room.

Varian watched in confusion until his father returned holding a very thick leather book. Quirin sat back at the table, but hesitated a moment more before setting the book down in front of Varian. The book was very worn and torn, the original clasp looked like it’d snapped off from how thick it’d become and a leather cord was wrapped around the entire thing multiple times in an attempt to hold it all together. Scraps of paper and drawings all peeked out the sides adding to his curiosity.

“This was your mother, Ulla’s, journal.” Quirin finally said. “Specifically for her studies of the seven trials from the seven kingdoms.”

Varian carefully took the book, a true treasure to him. He carefully opened the book staring in awe of the spilling pages. “What are the seven trials?”

Quirin shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t fully know. She studied a lot of things when I first met and fell in love with her in the Dark Kingdom. When we met she took a break from a lot of her studies, but once you were born her research partner, Donella, came by to show some of her findings. Ulla just lit up and I realized just how much her research meant to her. She was hesitant because you were just a baby, but I insisted she and Donella go and complete their work and follow her dream.”

A horrible sadness fell over Quirins face. “She never came home… Donella came back to tell me she had died. 

Varian sat in silence as he processed everything. His father had never been open about his mother's death before and it was rather shocking to hear. It also explained a lot of things and he could now understand his father's hesitation with the Alchemy he studied. It only further surprised him that his father had willingly given him his mother journal.

“I’m glad she brought back mom's research.” Varian said gently.

Quirirn looked up. “Oh, your mother left that journal here. She was worried that what was in it could get in the wrong hands.”

“Oh” Varian replied. They sat in silence for a moment, Varian was unsure if he was allowed to read the book.

Quirin finally spoke up. “I wanted to keep you safe from your mother's work, but watching you take after her… it just doesn’t feel right. Please… be careful with what you discover from this journal. And… please talk to me before you decide to do anything about it.”

Varian smiled, his heart felt light from happiness, this journal was not just a wonderful gift, but also a way of his father showing he trusted him. “Thanks dad. I promise I will.” 

For the next week Varian became obsessed, pouring through every page and scrap of paper over a dozen times. He even started his own journal to better organize and translate his mother's thoughts. If there was one thing he didn’t inherit from his mother was her chaotic note taking and scatterbrain. Not to say his notes were perfectly orderly, but they were nothing like the mess his mother left. Despite that he was able to still marvel at her brilliance and bond with her memory over it. 

He quickly learned that the seven trials were all to find totems that would work together and lead to something called the Eternal Library. A place of unimaginable wisdom and knowledge. As a student of learning, Varian was excited by the idea. His mother seemed to suggest that it was very real and very possible to get to and a majority of her notes were the trials and how to get through each of them.

When he next visited Corona, he went straight to Xaviar’s.

“Varian?” The older man asked.

Varian grinned. “Xaviar! It’s been awhile.”

Xaviar was working on a collection of tools, hammering a glowing red rod of metal into shape. “Indeed it has,” he said, placing the metal back into forge. “What can I do for you?”

Varian found a stool and sat down opening his own journal to reference his notes, he’d left his mother’s journal at home, it was far too bulky and delicate to travel with. “I was wondering what you know about the Eternal Library.”

Xaviar rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It’s been many years since I’ve been asked about that legend. I’m afraid there is not much to say, but it’s believed to be where Demanitus stored every book of knowledge.”

“Demanitus?” Varian asked excitedly.

Xaviar nodded. “He was brilliant, was he not? Many believe he must have stored his knowledge somewhere.”

Varian held out his journal. “I know mostly about the seven trials and a general idea of where they are, but do you know about the totems? How will they lead me to the Eternal Library?”

Xaviar studied a few pages before he replied. “I do not know. The trials will lead you to the totems and then they will be joined together, but that is all I know.” He handed the book back to Varian.

Varian looked thoughtful. “Thanks for your help Xaviar.”

Xaviar nodded, picking up his hammer again. “Anytime Varian, it was good to see you.”

Varian said goodbye and made his next stop at the castle. There he babbled nonstop about everything he’d learned to Rapunzel and Eugene. They watched him animated with knowing looks on their faces.

“Varian, you should go.” Rapunzel encouraged. 

Varian stopped short. “I don't know… My dad would be so upset.”

Eugene smiled. “He gave you your mother's journal, didn't he? He must have prepared for you to want to follow in her footsteps.”

Varian stared at his own journal full of notes. A hunger was in his eyes.

Rapunzel gave him a gentle nudge. “Go talk to him! I think he trusts you with a lot more than you expect.”

And so, fueled with some encouragement from his friends, he headed back home to talk to his father.

When he got home however, his father had a stricken look on his face. “We’ve been robbed!” he told his son in a panic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was stolen!? A reveal of the villians and the start of an adventure!  
> Enjoy!

Varian followed his father into their house to find his room completely torn apart. Every drawer was opened and emptied, stacked paper had been thrown and scattered. Bottles were shattered and chemicals were spilled all across the floor. It was lucky none had had a negative reaction and set the place afire. Varian hurried in to see what had been stolen. After only moments of digging it dawned on him. 

His mother's journal. They’d taken his mother's journal. Frantically he turned his bed upside down looking for it before his father stopped him.

“Varian!”

Varian could feel hot tears burn the corners of his eyes. 

“It’s gone Varian.” his father said firmly, grounding him in reality.

Ruddiger came and sat sadly beside Varian, sensing his distress.

Varian didn’t know what to do, it felt like he’d just lost a part of himself. He may have known the book backwards and forwards, but the sentimental value meant more to him than the words inside.

“All her work is gone…” Quirin murmured sadly.

Varian shook his head, “No, I have notes of everything here.” He said, lifting his own journal. 

Suddenly it dawned on him why a thief would take the book. “But dad! With all of mom's research!...!”

Quirin put his hands on his son's shoulders. “You need to go.”

Varian blinked back in surprise.

Quirin took a deep breath and continued. “As much as I hate to send you on the same path your mother went on… I know it’s what you need to do. You need to complete the 

seven trials and find this Eternal Library before this thief does… But Varian… You must promise me you’ll be careful! I lost your mother and I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

Varian was overwhelmed with emotion, hugging his father. “I promise dad! I will come home!”

Quirin gripped his son tightly. “You’d better.”

Varian pulled away to look at his father again. “Thank you for trusting me dad. I’ll make you proud.”

Quirin gave him one of his small rare smiles. “You already do.”

^^V^V^^

A woman sat silently staring at a wall. This wall was covered in layered paper of notes, drawings and maps. The woman was studying it intensely, trying to connect all the dots. 

She was an older woman, her long hair had completely greyed and her face showed her exhaustion. Her features were sharp and a scar crawled up her neck across her cheekbone, giving her an intimidating look. 

Suddenly she stood growling in frustration.

“Any luck?” a voice asked behind her. She whirled around to face a young man leaning in the doorway. He was fairly tall, but also rather gangly. He wore circular glasses and his blonde hair was tied into a small pony tail with the sides shaved. 

“I don’t want any of your attitude Hugo.” She spat.

Hugo gave her a feined look of offence. “Me? I would never give you the attitude Donella.”

Donella marched toward him, her eyes blazing. “I’m not in a good mood today.” She threatened.

Hugo was unfazed, but shrugged off his bag and pulled out a thick leather book from it. “Would this make you feel better?”

Her eyes widened. “You got it!?”

Hugo smirked. “You doubted me?”

Donella snatched the book, ripping it open and digging through it. “I doubted its existence! Ulla always made it sound like she could keep all of her work as thoughts in her head!”

Hugo scoffed. “And like I said, that’s impossible, she had to write it all someplace.”

Donella gave him another warning look. “You don’t know Ulla like I did. She was utterly brilliant. We were supposed to be partners, but I can barely say I even assisted her in her work.”

Donella started to flip through pages but as she did her eyebrows began to knit together with frustration. “What is this?”

Hugo squinted at the scrawly writing and looked back up at Donella. “It would appear to be a double replacement reaction.”

“I can see that Hugo!” Donella snarled at him. “Why is she talking about chemical reactions between notes of the best vacation spots in the Air Kingdom? This is a mess!”

“Is that a muffin recipe?” Hugo pointed at a scrap piece of paper.

Donella practically roared in anger. “Once again she spits at me!! How in the world will I ever find the Eternal Library again?!”

Hugo was still unperturbed. “Well, we know about the Fire Kingdom already don’t we? We’re not even that far away, let me give the trial a go. You can see if you can work anything from her notes in the meantime.”

Donella thought about it and finally nodded. “You feel prepared for it?”

Hugo shrugged. “You taught me everything you know about the trial and I’m confident in my skills. I’ll be fine.”

Donella agreed. “Good luck then.” She said, her emotions calming as she sat in the chair again and started looking through Ulla’s notes.

^^V^V^^

Varian hastily packed to leave, wanting to get as much of a head start on the trials as he could. He sent a few messages to Rapunzel and friends by bird, but otherwise had no time for goodbyes. 

His father nervously waited for him by the door. “I packed you a few necessities” he said, holding a full saddle bag. “And I thought you could use a ride to get you places.” he guestered outside to where Prometheus, their donkey, was waiting. Ruddiger hurried over to the donkey and hopped aboard, excited to go.

Varian smiled brightly. “Thank you dad.”

This time Quirin initiated the hug, holding his son tight. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

Quirin pat him on the back and let him go. “Go enjoy an adventure son.”

Varian grinned. “Definitely.”

Not wanting to draw out an awkward goodbye, Varian quickly mounted Prometheus, Ruddiger riding his shoulder, and they all headed out past the city limits and finally out of the Light kingdom. 

He may not have been born in the Light kingdom, but it was the only place he’d ever remembered and it felt strange leaving on his own for the first time. Rapunzel and Eugene often talked in detail about their long trip to the Dark kingdom and he’d always wanted to go on an adventure like they had. He expected the journey would be exciting and breathtaking, but the further he got away from the kingdom the more nervous he felt. Would he be able to do all this? Complete his mother's work? All on his own? This left him with his other problem. He was very lonely. To be sure, Ruddiger and Prometheus were fantastic to have along, but they couldn’t reply to him and he quickly realized he was just talking to himself. He almost turned around to invite someone to join him, but Rapunzel and Eugene had royal duties to take care of, Lance had his hands full with Kiera and Catalina and Cassandra was still travelling. And of course, the thief still had his mother’s journal and might be heading for the Fire kingdom just like he was. So Varian stayed on course, trying to concentrate on his goal.

Varian traveled for nearly a week before the scenery began to change. The trees became more delicate and pretty and the air more humid. Great big green mountains surrounded the path and he even went over a few smaller ones. There were also plenty of farms growing rice. He stopped at one and got directions to the Kingdom of Bayangor. The entire surrounding lands were known as the Fire Kingdom, but its capital was Bayangor. 

Coming over a hill Varian could finally see the beautiful kingdom. It was a gorgeous plethora of colors and he stopped to admire it for a moment. It felt strange to call such lush and vibrant lands the Fire kingdom, but Varian assumed it had to do with being completely volcanic in its past. It also explained its fertile soil and vegetation. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he pulled out his journal and double checked his notes and the map his mother had made. When he first read her journal he thought that the first trial took place in the capital kingdom, but upon further inspection, he realized his mother was actually referring to another city altogether. He’d been a bit suspicious about it and wondered if his mother was trying to lead people astray with her messy notes and constant reference to Bayangor, despite it not being his destination.

Using the map and a compass he was able to point himself just left of the capital and he continued his travels, ignoring it entirely. The scenery changed more as he got closer and he quickly realized the ancient volcanoes here were active. The air became furiously hot and humid and Varian was forced to change into a light tank top and shorts. Corona could have some decently hot summers, but he’d never dealt with this much humidity before and it took him a while to adjust to breathing it in. Ruddiger wasn’t doing much better, he chose to walk on foot so he could run ahead and soak in the rice fields until Varian and Prometheus caught up. Surprisingly Prometheus hardly seemed fazed by the heat. He put up more of a fight during the beginning of their journey when he didn’t want to leave the Light kingdom, but that could be due to the fact that they were too far to turn away now.

It only took a day and half from there until he reached the city of Huo and it was vastly different from Bayangdor. The colors of the city were hot reds, yellows and oranges, really giving the Fire kingdom its name. The actual city itself was tightly packed together, making use of vertical space with tall buildings. This saved space for the rice fields all around them and, of course, the massive volcanoes.

Varian made his way in, his jaw unable to close as he looked all around him. Everything felt different, the culture, food and the people. 

Suddenly there was a change in the atmosphere and people were looking stricken, pointing to the sky.

“LOOK OUT!” someone screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got together a proper idea of where I want this story to go! I'm working like mad to get ahead because I start work again next week. Only four days a week so heres hoping I can write lots!  
> I don't plan on making this story crazy long, since its actually just a fun little side project I decided to take on while I'm procrastinating on my comic. XD


	3. Chapter 3

Varian looked just in time to duck as a huge kite barely missed his head. He stood again to watch it spin out of control and then swoop up high into the air.

People all around screamed running out of the way.

The kite swooped down again, passing through some standing torches and catching fire.

“No no no!” A young boy rushed over watching in horror as the now burning kite chased people around. Arching, it came in the boys direction and he froze up in fear.

Acting on instinct Varian reached into his bag as he raced toward the boy. Grabbing the kid by the edge of his shirt, he flung him out of harm's way before hurtling a circular ball of blue liquid. It exploded over the top of the kite and instantly became foam smothering the fire. Slowed down now, Varian was able to catch and hold it down to the ground. It was still trying to move under him and he realized there was a small fan under it, being propelled by a series of gears and rubber bands. Pulling it apart the machine finally came to a stop. Varian lifted the little fan dumbfounded. 

“I’m so sorry!” the boy said, his eyes full of tears. “Oh my poor kite.”

“This is your kite?” Varian said in surprise. “So you made this?” he said, shaking what was left of the fan. 

The boy nodded, hastily wiping tears from his eyes.

The people around them were finally relaxing, some came by and thanked Varian and others scolded the boy as they passed.

Varian got up and dusted himself off. “What in the world were you doing?”

The boy sighed, still looking terribly upset. “I have so much trouble trying to get my kite off the ground so I can fly it, so I tried to invent something that would help.”

Varian stared at the kite. “How did you expect to control it without any string?”

Embarrassed, the boy looked at his feet, kicking a stone. “I was so focused on getting it off the ground I’d forgotten.”

Amused, Varian covered his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh. 

The boy looked up and took a moment to stare at Varian. “You’re not from around here.”

Varian composed himself and shook his head. “I’m Varian, I’ve come from the Kingdom of Corona.”

The boy's eyes widened. “The Light kingdom? You sure have come aways! I’m Yong! I’m twelve years old! Why are you here in Huo Varian?” he bubbled. 

Young was a short and rather pudgy kid, with a shock of black hair. His face was gentle and kind, you couldn’t help but instantly like him.

Varian grinned, the kid kinda reminded him of himself when he was younger. “I’m on a scientific journey looking for something.”

“Wow! That's so cool!” Yong exclaimed. “You're a real Alchemist? What are you looking for? Can I help you find it?”

A little overwhelmed with questions Varian motioned with his hands to calm Yong down. “For now, I just need a meal and somewhere I can set up camp for the night.”

“Just come stay at my house!” Yong said eagerly. “My mama won’t mind! You look like you could use a wash.”

Varian flushed a little, catching a whiff of himself and silently agreeing with Yong. He decided he’d take him up on the offer. “That would be fantastic.”

Yong quickly led him into the bustling city and into winding alleys and hallways through the buildings. They arrived at a small opening where there was a bit of grass and you could look up between the tall buildings and see the sky. This is where they left Prometheus and Ruddiger and they continued on, this time climbing a hundred stairs leading to Yong’s family's home.

“Mama! I’m home and I’ve brought someone.” Yong called as they walked in.

A pleasantly plump woman peeked around a corner and her face lit up when she saw Varian. “Hello traveller! Welcome!”

“H-hi.” Varian said nervously, feeling a bit awkward to just enter someone's private home.

“He needs some food and a place to stay mama!” Yong said.

Varian quickly interjected. “Oh! I can pay! I don’t want to freeload!”

The woman wouldn’t hear of it. “Nonsense! You can stay here as long as you like and you won’t give us a single coin.”

Varian found himself unable to argue with the woman so he politely thanked her and introduced himself.

“I’m Biyu,” she said. “Would you like to wash up Varian? It looks like you’ve come a long way.

Varian nodded eagerly and Yong led him down a hall to a small washroom. 

“Let me show you how to use the shower.” Yong said, pulling back a curtain on a small cement closet with a hole in the floor.

“Shower?” Varian asked curiously.

Yong nodded. “It’s not my idea, but I read in a book where an engineer cleaned himself with water coming down from above like a waterfall rather than sitting in water like a bath.”

Varian studied the shower, impressed. “Fascinating. Did you put it together yourself?”

Yong nodded, “My older brother Heng helped me.”

Yong showed him what to do and Varian enjoyed his first blissful shower. Made even better as he scrubbed off all the dirt he’d accumulated over time.

When he got out he found Yong had left him a change of clothes. They were a bit big and he assumed they were Heng’s, but they were made of a very light material and helped with the humidity significantly.

Leaving the washroom and going back down the hall, he saw Yong motioning him to another room on the other side of the apartment. He followed and found a small dining room with over a half dozen people packed around the table.

Biyu greeted him with a smile. “How do you feel?”

“Uh, refreshed.” Varian replied nervously, not expecting this many people.

Yong scoot over and Varian sat down. Biyu introduced everyone. Her husband's name was Jin, oldest son was Heng, oldest daughter was Mei, youngest daughter was Yawen and Yong was the youngest of the children. Lastly was their grandmother that just went by Nainai. She was very old and rarely spoke a word, when she did it was in her native tongue and Varian had no idea what she was saying.

Food was passed around and Varian eagerly tried it all. The only things he recognized was rice. He felt very warmly welcomed and quickly relaxed, listening to the family talk about their days and what they’d been up to. 

“How did kite flying go Yong?” Jin asked his son.

Yong looked embarrassed. “It caught fire…”

“Ai ya!” his mother exclaimed.

Mei raised a brow. “How does everything you touch either catch fire or explode?”

Nainai said something and the table burst into laughter.

Yawen was kind enough to whisper a translation in Varians ear so he could understand the joke. “She said, ‘Yet he’s still afraid of fireworks’. We make fireworks for a living.” she added.

Varian still didn’t laugh but glanced over to Yong whose ears were red.

To save her son from further humiliation Biyu asked Varian a question. “What are you doing here in Huo?” 

Varian quickled swallowed his mouthful of rice. “I’m looking for a treasure of sorts. Apparently it’s going to be fairly difficult to get to. It’s somewhere on Mount Fu.”

“Oh!” Yong perked up. “You mean the volcano Fu!” He pointed out the window at a tall mountain, green growing halfway before giving way to black lava rock. “It’s right over there.”

Varian stared at it in awe. “That would certainly explain the difficulty.”

“I could take you to it!” Yong said. “And maybe help you treasure hunt!”

Varian couldn’t help but smile. Yong was very young and very eager. He also seemed to be a very smart kid, who was perhaps a bit accident prone. Again Varian was reminded of himself.

“Oh Yong! It would be dangerous!” his mother exclaimed.

Lin grunted. “You would climb a volcano but not help your family with fireworks?”

Yong gave his father a pleading look. “Oh come on Baba! I could show Varian the way! And he’s an Alchemist! I’d love to learn from him!”

His father looked at Yong carefully then over to Varian. “Would you want to take him along with you?”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Varian said, he was sick of traveling alone, some company sounded fantastic. He also loved the idea of helping Yong out with his Alchemy.

Lin nodded. “Very well Yong, you may go.”

The table was quickly clamored with noise of objection, but Nainai spoke up, silencing them. “Go.” She said, “Learn and grow.”

No one commented further and Yong thanked his father and grandmother.

After dinner, Varian followed Yong to his room he shared with Heng, where Yong showed him all his work. He was a very smart kid, studying lots of Alchemy. In turn, Varian showed Yong his journal, explaining everything he knew about his goal, the Eternal Library. Yong grew excited and would have chattered away, but Biyu came in to show Varian where he could sleep. 

Yong and Varien left early the next morning. Despite it only being a daytrip, Yong’s mother provided them with provisions that could last weeks. Prometheus was not happy about the extra weight so Varian conceded to carrying a lot of it on his back in a strung together pack. 

The hike to the base of the volcano only took a couple hours on very easy terrain, but once they’d arrived Varian could see just how vertical the mountain was. The only way up was by a horrifying wooden bridge-path that clung to the side of the rock and spiraled up.

Varian took a single step onto it and Prometheus grunted and pulled him back.

“Whoa!” Varian exclaimed, caught off balance. “Come on Prometheus!” He tried to tug the donkey forward, but Prometheus would have none of it, sitting down and digging his hooves into the ground.

Seeing little other option Varian gave in and tied Prometheus to the end of the bridge, giving him enough slack to graze on the grass nearby.

“Would you stay with him, Ruddiger?” he asked the Raccoon. 

Ruddiger hopped over to Prometheus and sat beside him.

Varian smiled. “Thanks”

They dropped off their heavy bags with the animals and started to head up the rickety bridge.

The climb took many hours, leaving Varian exhausted. He’d been lucky to ride Prometheus most of the way from Corona, and only now realized how out of shape he was. Yong surprisingly had no problem, perhaps due to his endless youthful energy. Varian was just eighteen, but he was feeling old watching Yong easily skip his way up while being able to chatter at the same time. 

Then just like that the bridge ended, fenced off with nothing beyond. There was no way to get to the top unless you could climb the sheer rockside. For a moment the two of them stared in shock.

“Did we go the wrong way?” Varian asked in confusion.

Yong shook his head. “This is the only way. I’ve never been up this far, but I was sure it would go to the top! What's the point otherwise?”

Varian quickly pulled out his journal and sat down, leafing through it. He finally found an area of extra notes where he wasn’t sure where they belonged.

Yong cautiously touched the fence, to see if it was real and then shook it to see if he could go through.

“Wait!” Varian said with excitement. “I think I understand. He pulled out a scribble and lined it up with the rock wall before sliding his hands across the rocks. To his excitement a jutting rock slid in and locked. Quickly following the scribbled diagram he put together the puzzle, pressing the remaining rocks until there was loud creaking and groaning as a mechanism was released and the shape of a large door could be seen in the rock. It all slid back and then off to the side with a loud bang and the two boys were overwhelmed with a sudden blast of heat. The door revealed a massive cave-like room directly inside of the volcano and full of lava. A small path lead to the center of the room where a pedestal stood, a lever sitting on the top.

A small click distracted their eyes from the room and a smaller hole opened up on the rockside.

Varian peeked inside seeing a small compartment with a standing object inside, bulbos in shape and red in color. “This must be the totem!”

Yong peeked in the room again. “So all we need to do is pull that lever to get it? This is easy!”

Varian caught the corner of Yong’s shirt to stop him. “Whoa! Wait, my mother wrote a warning about this!”

Pulling out his journal again, he read aloud for Yong to hear. “The first trial teaches Calcination. Where you heat up a solid to remove other substances so the solid can be purified. Do not take this trial lightly.”

Yong gave Varian a look of confusion. “What does that mean? It just looks like a short walk to me.”

Varian shook his head. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to put you in danger. I’ll go in.”

Yong seemed to agree this was wise and watched as Varian very cautiously took his first step.

Nothing happened and Varian took another. The heat was inordinate and he was quickly sweating so much it was rolling down his forehead and into his eyes. Wiping it away, he took a couple more brave steps and felt himself pass through something cold before the heat hit him again. Looking back he could see just the faintest outline of magic.  
“There's a magic barrier of some sort here!” he told Yong, cautioning him not to follow. 

He went to take another step, but was blinded with a sharp pain in his head. Varian held his temples, staggering for a moment as he cried out.

“Varian!” Yong said with concern, taking a step inside.

Fighting through the pain Varian held out a hand to stop Yong. “Stay!” he ordered.

Suddenly his head was filled with memories. Horrible memories, twisted to be that much worse. He remembered Rapunzel denying to help him and his father. Ugly feelings resurfaced as he recalled the revenge he desired.

“NO!” Varian yelled, trying to push through. He forced himself to look ahead and walk forward toward the lever.

“What’s happening?!” Yong shouted, his face white with fear.

Varian gasped as the pain got worse and he was forced to his knees. The memories continued to bombard him. His betrayal of Rapunzel in the castle vault, kidnapping her mother and then fighting with Rapunzel, blinded completely in his anger.

He didn’t notice the tears spilling down his cheeks and instantly evaporating as they hit the hot rocks he knelt on. “No, no, no!” he pleaded, his mind felt like it was breaking. At the same time he was hot with anger, a part of him screaming for revenge.

Then for a moment it all seemed to pass and he cautiously lifted his head, wondering if it was over. A new feeling crept over and then overwhelmed him. Guilt. With everything he’d done how could he be forgiven? Even almost four years later, people still didn’t trust him. There were many who protested when he was promoted to Royal Engineer. Rapunzel had told him she’d forgiven him, but now he wondered if she really had. How could she after all? He couldn’t forgive himself.

Seeing movement from the corner of his eye, he saw Yong walking in. “Yong! Don’t!” Varian shouted, fearful for his friend.

Yong gasped as he stepped through and his eyes grew wide. The same pain hit him and he grimaced, pulling at his hair. He remembered playing with fireworks, his family not fully keeping an eye on him. One went off in his hands shooting up in the air, but then quickly moving in a direction he didn’t intend. It landed and exploded right in front of his grandfather, causing a large ploom of smoke. “YEYE!” Yong screamed, standing.

His grandfather appeared out of the smoke, coughing and gasping before collapsing. 

The scene changed and Yong was standing at his grandfather's bedside. The man had just slipped off, dying. Yong sobbed uncontrollably screaming. “It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault!”

He cried out the same things now in the cave, devastated.

Suddenly a gentle feeling washed over him and he remembered his mother holding him tight. “No Yong.” She told him gently. “It’s not your fault.”

“It is!” Yong cried. 

“It was an accident my love.”

Yong shook his head. “If I was more careful...!”

“You will be. You cannot change the past, only shape your future.” his mother told him seriously.

The pain in Yong’s head ceased and he realized he was free. He looked up and saw Varian still in agony and rushed to get to his feet. He ran to the lever and quickly pulled it. The magic barrier came down and Varian gasped as the pain instantly left. The guilt still remained and Varian quickly pushed it all down wiping his face. “You did it.” he said, impressed.

Yong smiled weakly. “I see why your mother left a warning.”

They didn’t have time to recover in the room, with all the heat from the lava suffocating them. Sounds of rock moving against rock filled the cave and they got up to go see their prize.

But as soon as they exited the cave they came to a halt, faced with a young man neither had seen before. He had blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, round circular glasses and several ear piercings. He also appeared to be just a smidge older than Varian. In his hands was the totem. 

The young man glanced up at Varian and Yong’s bedraggled appearances giving them an amused look. “Thanks for doing all the hard work.” He told them. “You guys did a great job.” He carelessly tossed the totem in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just started working again. It's a little difficult to keep up with writing, but once I adjust I'm sure i will. I'm ahead by several chapters still.  
> Hope you enjoyed this one! I had way too much fun writing it.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey! That’s ours!” Varian growled.

“Yeah! We earned it!” Yong added.

The young man smirked. “Oh I’m sorry!” he feigned an apology. “But I’m afraid I’ll need this little trinket.”

Varain went to move towards the young man, but the young man was too quick and tossed a vial on the ground. It exploded filling the air with green smoke.

Yong and Varian choked on the air, covering their mouths and noses. It quickly blew away, but the thief had a head start on them. They tried to chase him down, but he was far more fit then either of them. Still, they raced all the way down the mountain, aided by gravity. By the time they got to the end of the precarious bridge, the thief had hopped on a horse and could be seen riding in the distance. Out of breath and with a knot in his side, Varian dropped to his knees, wheezing. Prometheus was straining against his rope, wanting to go after the thief and Ruddiger limped over to Varian, having just been kicked out of the way by the thief.

Varian picked up the raccoon with concern, checking that his furry friend didn’t have any injuries. “Ugh…” he growled. “What are we going to do? It's impossible for us to follow him now.”

Yong looked determined. “But we can go after him! We know where he’s going!”

Varian gave Yong a confused look.

“He’ll go after the next totem of course!” Yong pointed out.

It dawned on Varian. “The Water Kingdom! Of course! You're right!”

Yong grinned. “And we’ll catch up with your journal. Without it we would have never got into the cave.”

Varian nodded. “But if that’s the same thief that took my mother journal he’ll be sure to have some tricks worked out.” He suddenly realized the language Yong was using. “Are you planning to come with me?”

Yong looked eager. “If you’ll let me! And my parents... Could we stop and ask before we head out?”

Varian considered everything, Yong was really smart for his age and he would have never completed the trial without him. “I’d love it if you came with me.” he said.

So, picking up the pace this time, the two hurried down to Huo and Yong’s family.

“Mama! Baba! You wouldn’t believe the adventure we had!” Yong told his parents excitedly. He didn’t have time to dive into details however and quickly skipped through explaining their situation with the thief. “Please! Let me continue with Varian! I want to help him.” he begged.

Biyu looked nervous and glanced over at her husband. Jin was thoughtful.

Nainai wandered over giving a toothy grin. “You grow a little. Go grow a lot.”

Jin agreed. “You can go with Varian.”

Biyu gave her son a hug. “Oh please be careful! And write to us! Every day if you can.”

Yong nodded.

Varian was reminded that he needed to write to his father. He had plenty to tell him about now.

Biyu turned her attention to Varian. “Take good care of him for us.”

Varian promised solemnly, though he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous, realizing the responsibility he was taking on.

Yong turned to his father. “Baba, could I take some gunpowder and supplies to make fireworks?”

His entire family started with surprise.

Yong looked determined. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore… or living in guilt…”

Varian watched Yong carefully, unsure what he was talking about, but proud to watch his student learn to be brave.

Nainai looked excited, hurrying to her room before returning with a book. Yong would later translate for Varian that she was giving him an ancient book passed down through generations, devoted to the combination of magic and fireworks.

Yong gave her a grateful hug then went with his father to gather supplies.

While they waited, Biyu explained to Varian what happened to Yong and Varian was able to understand what the kid had gone through during the trial. 

When Yong returned, he gave the kid a warm smile and Yong returned it.

The goodbye was a tearful one. Yong hadn’t left his home before and his family was nervous to send him off. Jin and Heng brought a wagon for them so they wouldn’t have to walk the entire way and they hooked up Prometheus to it. With the last tearful waves, Yong and Varian were off. 

Ruddiger leapt around the wagon with excitement, he was eager to get out of the humidity and see someplace new.

Varian’s heart soared with a renewed determination, but he also used it to help bury the emotions the last trial had brought to the surface.

^^V^V^^

Inspecting the totem in his hands Hugo half considered running off with it and trying to complete the rest of the trials on his own, but without the journal or Donella’s knowledge, he hardly knew where he was going. 

Donella wasn’t far away, she was staying in Bayngor. He abandoned his stolen horse outside the gates and easily rolled through the busy streets and alleyways until he spotted Donella’s henchman standing outside a door.

“Charles!” Hugo greeted him. “How are you doing my friend?”

The muscle clad man gave him a glare.

Hugo smirked. “Come now. You can’t still be mad that I found out your name isn’t really Steele. I think Charles is an excellent name.”

A muscle jerked on Steele’s face and Hugo decided to spot pestering him before the man crushed his head. 

“You going to let me in?”

Charles reluctantly moved allowing Hugo to pass. Hugo entered the small house and quickly found Donella in her study pouring through Ulla’s journal. 

“Did you get it?” Donella asked, her eyes instantly snapping up.

Hugo tossed the totem to her. “You bet.”

She caught it, her greedy eyes inspecting every inch of it. “Finally!” She breathed. “Well done.” she complimented Hugo.

Hugo shifted. “Well, to be honest, I didn’t complete the trial. By the time I arrived some other people were doing it. I just managed to take the totem before they did.”

Donella looked up in shock. “What?! Who?”

Hugo shrugged. “Some guy and a kid. Honestly, I’m pretty sure the guy is Quirin and Ulla’s kid.”

Donella gave him a confused look. “How do you know that?”

“Well I didn’t take that journal from Quirin’s room, but from his kid’s.” Hugo answered. “I was watching them and the kid referred to a book the entire time, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a copy he’d made of this journal.”

Donella sat down, looking thoughtful. She stared at the pages of Ulla’s journal. They’d plagued her for days and she’d been hardly able to untangle anything from them.

“Go back to them,” she said, handing back the totem to Hugo.

Hugo took it, puzzled. “Why?”

Donella flipped another page. “Because we won’t get anywhere fast with this journal. If that boy truly is Ulla’s child he will get you through all the trials. Go cozy up to them, I’m sure you know how to get on his good side. You’ve always been absurdly good at manipulating people.”

Hugo decided to take that barbed comment as a compliment.

Donella continued. “You’ll keep in constant contact with me.” She guestered to a raven sitting on the windowsill patiently. “Maun knows you well enough. He will find you and receive reports from you and I’ll send you any further orders. I will join you at the end of your journey and we’ll take the library for ourselves.”

A muscle in Hugo’s jaw twitched at the mention of ‘orders’. He hated to be commanded to do anything. But he didn’t fight back, he owed Donella after all. “Easy enough, I’m sure it won't take me long.”

Donella went back to the journal, still determined to unravel it’s secrets, and Hugo left trying to push down the feeling of anger. In truth, Donella wasn’t the cause of the emotion and he didn’t want to blame her for it. She had done a lot for him over the past couple of years and he was determined to repay her. He didn’t want to have any debts once he started his own life.

Using a little simple math and a map, he triangulated where his targets would be and even found himself a shortcut so he could bump into them sooner. They hardly even had a day’s head start before he caught up.

He heard the oldest of the boys talking to the youngest showing him a basic chemical reaction.

Hugo smirked, strutting alongside them on his horse. “Careful with that, it’s highly volatile.

Varian jumped, just about spilling the mixture on himself. He almost jumped again when he saw who was on the horse.“YOU!”

Hugo carelessly tossed them the totem. “Relax. You can have it back.”

Varian stared at it and then back up at Hugo, utterly befuddled.

“Why?” Yong asked.

Hugo sighed. “I thought it was going to take me straight to the Eternal Library.” he lied smoothly.

Varian raised a brow. “You know about it? What do you want from it?”

Hugo rolled his eyes. “Um knowledge, duh.”

Varian shook his head. “I mean what will you do with that knowledge.”

Hugo sucked in a breath and looked at the two of them with sad eyes. “I want to help my little sister… She's sick. My parents are both working as hard as they can to find the money they need to get help, but I don’t think even the doctors can help her. I want to cure her myself and I’m sure the Eternal Library can help me.”

Varian and Yong looked sympathetic and exchanged looks.

“I’m Hugo by the way.” He introduced himself.

Varian was still taken off guard and awkwardly introduced himself and Yong. 

“I don’t trust you!” Yong said bluntly.

Varian couldn’t help but agree. “What about my mother's journal?” he demanded.

Hugo gave him a look of bewilderment. “What journal?” 

Donella was right, he was a fantastic manipulator. He’d been doing it since he was a child and could convince anyone of anything. Even that he had a big loving family, of which he did not.

Varian glanced down at his own journal in his lap, wondering who else was after the Eternal Library. “Well…” he started but Hugo cut him off.

“Can I join you guys? I’m truely sorry about before, but I was desperate… I still am. I promise I can be of help!”

Yong shook his head. “Absolutely not! You’re a thief! Once a bad guy always a bad guy!”

Varian sucked in a breath, he felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He had been the villain before, maybe Hugo was like himself.

“I think we should let him join us.” He told Yong.

Yong was flabbergasted. “What!? Why?”

“Because people deserve a second chance.”

Hugo carefully held back his smirk. “Another spectacular performance.” he thought smugly.

“Thank you!” Hugo beamed. “I assure you! I won’t let you down!”

Yong folded his arms and pouted. Ruddiger was on Yong’s side, hissing at Hugo before sitting as far away in the wagon as possible.

Hugo was unaffected however and carefully chat them up. Talking about the trials and what little he knew. As he had suspected, Varian and Yong knew far more. Varian especially, never once consulting his journal. 

^^V^V^^

Over the next few days the temperature quickly began to drop. They weren’t prepared at all and had to stop at a village and buy warmer clothes. Even that wasn’t enough though and they eventually wrapped themselves in their blankets as they went on. The trees became coniferous and the mountains taller and sharper. The ground was hard and frozen and soon covered in snow. Soon they had no choice but convert the wagon into a makeshift sled so they could continue moving forward. Hugo was quick to come up with a simple and easy to construct design, it even made it easy to return it to a normal wagon later. Varian wouldn’t admit it, but he was a bit jealous of Hugo’s sharp mind.

At first they had fun, at least Yong and Varian did. Yong had never seen snow and Varian was eager to show him how great it was. Hugo could care less. Though he tried to remain friendly enough and chat when necessary, he found them incredibly annoying and often rode far behind so they wouldn’t interrupt his thoughts.

As the trip wore on the cold got even worse, to the point where they realized it was dangerous. They hadn’t seen a village for an entire week and were unable to buy proper clothing or food to survive. Hugo and Varian argued over going back to the last village they saw, but Hugo pointed out that they wouldn’t survive the week it would take to go back. Their best chance was to move forward and hope to find someplace else.

Yong was especially suffering, he’d only experienced hot and humid his whole life, this dry and cold was not kind to him. He huddled in the back of the wagon using their tent tarps as any source of warmth. 

Varian sat at the front of the wagon, wrapped in a blanket other than his hands, which he still needed for guiding Prometheus. Ruddiger was cuddled up in his lap and they kept each other warm.

Hugo was still riding his horse, he was unable to curl up like Varian or Yong and just had his blanket tied around him like a jacket. He did have gloves, but they were unlined leather and only really helped with the wind. Every once in a while he’d realize he was passing out and shake himself awake. His body desperately wanted to shut down and he refused to do so.

Varian noticed one of his nods, looking considered. “Do you want to lie down in the wagon? I’m sure Yong could share the tarp.”

Hugo sent him a sharp look. “I’m fine.” he said stubbornly.

Only minutes later though he’d slipped off his horse and woke up from the impact of hitting the ground.

“Hugo! Are you alright?”

Hugo forced himself to sit up. “Fine” he insisted.

He was unable to get to his feet however and Varian ended up dragging him into the wagon anyway. Hugo passed out soon after. 

Varian hooked up the horse with Prometheus so they could help each other and urged them onward. He was about to give up all hope when they came into a clearing and there was a small village up ahead. 

Varian would have cried if not for the fear of freezing his eyes shut. “Help… help” Varian’s voice cracked weakly, hardly having any strength left in him.

Someone came peeking out of their door and stared at Varian in horror.

Relieved that they were going to live Varian lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! My life is crazy busy. Finally had an entire weekend to be lazy and I decided to be creative again.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry about the cliffhanger. (^_^')


	5. Chapter 5

Hugo sat up quickly, realizing he didn’t know where he was. He was in a living room of sorts, the walls made of large wood logs and covered in animal pelts for insulation. A large fire in the center of the room kept the place warm. Yong was sleeping peacefully by his side, cuddling Ruddiger like a stuffed animal. Varian was on the other side of the room talking to some strangers and drinking something warm.

Taking his blanket with him, he approached them.

Varian looked up, he had big dark circles under his eyes. “Hey, feeling ok?”

Hugo nodded, checking he hadn’t lost any fingers or toes in the cold.

“Welcome to my home.” the stranger said.

Hugo looked up. He was a middle aged man with dark hair and skin. His eyes were warm and genuine. 

“My name is Panuk.” he introduced himself.

Hugo threw a smile on his face, shaking the man's hand and giving his name.

Varian stifled a yawn. “We need to get moving soon. Apparently we’re only a cou[le days away from a port town. They will take us to the other side of the sea.”

Panuk put a hand on Varians shoulder. “Please stay a little while, none of you are in any condition to travel.”

Varian wanted to argue, but Panuk gave him a knowing look and Varian heaved a sigh, nodding. “Just one more day then.”

Hugo had a deep suspicion of Panuk and he had to be hyper aware of the muscles in his face so he didn’t glower at the man.

Panuk got up and went to another part of the house and Hugo took the chance to talk to Varian alone. “I don’t trust him.” He hissed.

Varian raised a brow. “Why not?”

Hugo. “We don’t have any money to pay him for tonight, does he know that?”

Varian nodded. “I already tried to see if we could do something for him, but he insisted we didn’t try to pay him back.”

Hugo looked all the more skittish. “Nothing is ever free, he’s going to demand something.”

Varian studied Hugo closely, but didn’t say anything.

A young woman came out of the kitchen with some bowls of food. She smiled at them. “Good morning. I brought you something to eat.”

Hugo grinned, taking a bowl and giving her a charming smile. “Why thank you m’lady.”

She blushed a little, introducing herself as Amka. 

Hugo smoothly started a conversation with her, casually flirting.

Varian watched them, unimpressed. He was still unsure what to think of Hugo, he was friendly enough, but at the same time very standoffish and kept to himself. There was also something just a bit slimy about him.

“Varian?”

Varian looked over to see Yong waking up. He tripped on his blanket and fell, but managed to gather himself and walk over to the group. “Are we alive?”

Hugo laughed. “No. We’re dead.”

Varian ignored him. We made it to the outskirts of Galcrest. Feel ok?”

Yong nodded. “I slept really well.” He noticed Varians face. “Are you ok?”

Varian assured him he was, but the dark circles and his shaky hands said otherwise.

“Go rest for awhile Varian.” Yong insisted. “You look like you could use it.”

Varian finally conceded. He’d seen everyone alive and well so he figured it was safe enough to do so.

Amka took an instant liking to Yong eagerly telling him stories of her people and culture.

Yong listened with utter fascination, but Hugo withdrew from the conversation, annoyed that his flirting had failed. 

Panuk returned and joined in with Amka’s storytelling.

Varian drifted off as he listened feeling peaceful. His dreams were not. The cave kept haunting him, the guilt and his memories stirring up. There were so many times when he’d felt close to forgiveness and part of him knew his friends had, but he found it much harder to forgive himself. Things would be fine and then someone in the street would glare at him, or he’d overhear conversation. He’d make a mistake with an invention and all his old dirt would be dug up again and shoved in his face. He couldn’t escape.

“Varian! Varian!”

Varian shot up, seeing Hugo kneeling at his side. Hugo looked somewhat annoyed. “You were shouting in your sleep.”

Varian felt his face burn with embarrassment. “Sorry.” He glanced around and realized everyone had gone.”

Hugo noticed his look. “Yong is showing them fireworks. Guess this is a safe place to practice with all the cold.”

There was an explosion that shook the house and Varian and Hugo exchanged looks of panic. Together they rushed for the door and flung it open.

Yong stood safely out in the open, the snow all around him glittered in the early evening sun. He had his arms above his head and moved them smoothly and gracefully. Overhead was a dragon made of fire, long and snakelike, it followed Yong’s movements as it sailed through the air.

Varian and Hugo stared with open mouths. Panuk and Amka were delighted, as were many other villagers who gathered to watch. Yong allowed the dragon to swoop past everyone once more before sending it up high into the air and allowing it to explode into tiny little fragments.

Everyone cheered, applauding. 

“That was amazing Yong!” Varian said, running over and giving Yong a hug. “Where did you learn to do that?”

Yong grinned, “The book my granny gave me. I’ve been reading it while we traveled and I just realized that she’d been preparing me to use magic with fireworks all along.”

Varian caught a glimpse of Hugo heading back inside and Yong caught his look. “Do you still trust him?” Yong asked, his eyes narrow as he looked where Hugo was.

Varian heaved a sigh. “No.” he admitted. “I think I’ll go in after him so I can keep an eye and make sure he doesn’t cause trouble.”

Yong caught his hand and Varian looked back, Yong’s eyes were filled with concern. “Why are you letting him come with us then?”

Varian rubbed the back of his neck, he wasn’t ready to tell Yong the full story of his own villainy, “He hasn’t given us a proper reason to give up on him.”

“So we’re going to wait until he stabs us in the back?”

Varian searched carefully for his words. “He deserves a chance to do the right thing. I want to give him that chance.”

Yong didn’t have any more retorts, he still didn’t agree, but he finally let Varian go, deciding to trust his decision. 

That evening they sat down with Panuk and a map and plotted out a better route for getting to their destination. They were headed for some islands, according to Varian’s notes. There was a rather large lake they needed to cross, but Panuk found them a route that would only take them a day to cross and even a fisherman that would take them across the water. 

Apparently the water made all the difference, because the islands out in the lake were actually tropical. 

Panuk and Amka also set them up with far warmer clothes and food for the last few days of travel. Much more prepared for their trip, they all went to bed.

Varian just barely closed his eyes before Hugo shook him.

“We should leave.” Hugo whispered.

“What? Why?” Varian whispered back.

“I don’t know what they’re plotting, but if we go now, we won’t have to deal with them.”

Varian searched Hugo’s eyes, trying to understand why this guy was so untrusting. “Not everyone is plotting something.” He told him. “After all the kindness they showed us, we’re not going to just run away like thieves in the night.”

He caught Hugo wince slightly.

Hugo tried to argue, but Varian turned over again, getting comfortable, not wanting to hear any of it. 

He woke up the next morning to find Hugo waiting by the fire, tinkering with a small metal object in his hands, as soon as he saw Varian wake, he quickly put it away.  
Varian gave him a small smile, happy he’d decided to wait.

They woke up Yong and started packing and hooking up Prometheus to their wagon/sled. Panuk and his daughter made them a hearty breakfast and gave them plenty of dried meat for later.

Hugo waited stiffly, but before he knew it they were saying their final goodbyes and leaving the small village.

Varian glanced up from his map and looked at Hugo. “See?” He said, catching Hugos attention. “Not everyone demands something in return. For them, giving was their own reward.”

Hugo gave Varian a look of confusion.

Varian chuckled. “Where in the world did you grow up?”

“The Iron Kingdom.” Hugo said. “You won’t find such kindness there.”

Varian tried to read Hugo, but the guy was so difficult. 

Hugo seemed a bit more comfortable with them now and even spent some time in the back of their wagon while Yong learned to ride his horse. He said he’d teach the kid, but Yong found his lessons very unhelpful. Hugo would look down at his project most of the time, giving vague instructions, only looking up to watch as Yong was bucked off so he could laugh hysterically. 

Yong was growing to dislike Hugo more by the minute, but he still stubbornly fought to learn to ride while ignoring Hugo.

Varian tried to give a few tips, but he was pretty sure the horse just didn’t like most people. He’d tried asking Hugo for its name, but Hugo had just shrugged and called it “Horse”. He was beginning to suspect that the horse was stolen, but decided not to share his idea with Yong, seeing that the kid was waiting for the right opportunity to snap at Hugo. Boy were they a mess of a crew.

“What are you working on?” Varian asked Hugo, hoping to start a bit of friendly conversation.

To his surprise he saw a look on Hugo’s face that he’d never seen before. Pride, with just a small hint of happiness. Of course, he quickly hid it with his usual lazy look, but he lifted his little creation. It was a small mechanical mouse. “A little toy mouse I’ve named Olivia, She used to help me out as a kid, so I thought I'd try putting her back together.”

“Oh wow, it's amazing!” Varian said, admiring the detailed craftsmanship. “What happened that it broke?”

Hugo’s face went dark as the memory flashed through his mind. 

He was just a kid, held to his knees, his arms twisted painfully behind his back. The contents of his bag were dropped to the dirt floor and as soon as his little mouse hit the ground it scrambled to get away.

“Ew kill it!” someone shouted.

A foot quickly stomped on it, sending parts flying.

At the time Hugo was horrified and defeated, but now the memory just made him angry. “Just an accident,” he mumbled vaguely, going back to working on it.

Varian could see he stepped on a toe and decided to leave Hugo alone. It was far too difficult to talk to him anyway.

Hugo continued to annoy them over the next few days, Varian was sure he was doing it on purpose. Anytime Yong tried to practice his fireworks or Varian tried to teach him anything, Hugo would correct them. What was worse was that he was always right. 

Varian was sure Hugo was no more than a year older than him, but somehow he’d studied everything and he had an amazing memory, so he could quote entire pages from books he’d read. Varian was supposed to be the mentor, but he was continuously humiliated. Hugo grinned, pleased with himself. 

Before a proper argument could erupt they arrived at the docks Panuk instructed them to go to. 

There was only one dark ship on the water and a motley looking crew working to bring cargo aboard. They weren’t like Panuk and his people and shivered and complained from the cold. 

Varian approached their captain who shouted orders. “Excuse me? Are you Sam?”

The man raised a brow, looking at Varian. He had greasy black hair sticking to the back of his neck and his face, sharp eyes and a mouth with very little teeth. 

Hugo immediately had him pegged for a pirate.

The man grinned, “That I’d be. What can I do for you?”

Varian opened his mouth, but Hugo held up a hand to Varian’s face, stopping him. “You’re lying.” he growled at the man.

The man smirked, walking over so he was face to face with Hugo. “Am I?”

Hugo boldly took on the man's eyes, not at all intimidated.

Yong and Varian watched nervously, unsure what to do.

There were a couple intense seconds and the man burst into laughter. “Hahaha, alright boy, you win. I’m not.”

“Where is Sam?” Varian asked in confusion. “We need to get a ride across this lake.”

The man shrugged. “Who knows, he could be here any minute, or maybe in a couple weeks. These waters are impossible to predict. But I could give you all a lift.” A sinister smile grew on the man's face. “For a price.”

Varian didn’t want anything to do with the man, but Hugo didn’t want to sit around in the cold waiting for someone he didn’t trust to come help them. “We can help you load and unload the cargo.” Hugo bargained.

The man sneered. “For all of your weight? Absolutely not. Give us the wagon and all the animals.”

Hugo sighed, knowing Varian would never part with his Raccoon or donkey. “Just the horse. It’s worth more than our weight. Bred and raised in the Kingdom of Bayangor, I’ve been using it for travel, but it was trained for racing.” Another smooth and easy lie.

The man now looked interested, studying the horse, “Well it does look strong and fast… but I don’t know.”

“Well we can just wait for our friend Sam I suppose.” Hugo said casually.

The man fell into his snare easily. “Ah, alright. I’m a kind guy. You can ride with us.”

“Hugo…” Varian tried to say, but Hugo ignored him, leading Prometheus so they could load their wagon onto the ship.

Yong looked nervous. “I think I‘d rather wait for Sam.” He whispered to Varian. Varian couldn’t help but agree, but there wasn’t enough time to argue.

So they all hopped on board and set off into the open water. The lake was covered in fog and it was impossible to fully see across.

They were given a very small cabin below decks with two beds for the three of them to share. Hugo immediately took a bed so Varian offered to take the floor so Yong could have the other bed. The night was miserably cold and when there was a hint of light in the morning, Varian decided to give up trying to sleep and get up. It took him a moment to notice that Hugo was already gone. Sneaking out of the cabin, as to not wake Yong, he headed for the upper decks. Along the way, he bumped into one of the men on board. He was a creepy man and gave Varian a foul grin as they passed each other. A shiver rushed down Varian’s spine and he considered going back to his cabin. He didn’t like this boat or its crew. Luckily Ruddiger was sleeping with Yong and he knew if anyone went into their cabin, Ruddiger would have something to say about it.

The upper decks were freezing and Varian hurried to adjust his coat, pulling up his hood to protect his ears. He quickly spotted Hugo, looking out into the water, unconcerned despite their seedy surroundings.

“Cold this morning” Varian commented, trying to start a conversation.

Hugo glanced at him, raising a brow. 

Varian tried again. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

Hugo sighed, realizing he wasn’t getting out of talking. “A bit.”

Varian was realizing he wasn’t going to get anywhere by beating around the bush and decided to ask his question directly. “Um,” he started awkwardly. “I was thinking, about your sick little brother, what sort of symptoms does he have? Maybe I can help with finding a cure.”

There was a flash of thinking in Hugo’s eyes before he answered. “He’s paralyzed from the waist down.”

Varian’s heart dropped. He was right. Hugo had been lying to them. “What about your little sister then?”

Hugo’s eyes widened and he hurried to think of a new lie, but Varian stopped him. 

“What do you really want from the Eternal Library?”

Hugo gripped the rails, letting out a puff of air. “When did you figure it out?”

Varian stared out over the water. “Didn’t take long. You’re a little too used to being all by yourself to have a close family.”

Hugo scowled, but he couldn’t argue, knowing he was better at short term lies.

Varian asked his question again and Hugo countered with the question back, emphasizing it. “Why do YOU want to go to the Library?”

Varian leaned on the rails, watching ice float past the boat. “ I want to complete my mother's work. I also want to learn whatever I can learn and make all that knowledge accessible to anyone.”

Hugo carefully hid his grimace, Varian was such a naive kid. “Well I want to learn and use that knowledge to make money. Then I can take care of myself and I won’t need anyone.” he said honestly. He knew his plans were selfish, but he only had himself anyway. 

“Why’d you have to lie about it?” Varian asked.

Hugo gave Varian an unimpressed look. “Would you have let me join you guys if I did?”

Varian looked a little sheepish. “Well…”

Hugo shook his head. “I watched you two easily access the secret door to the trial, It took me two months to crack that one… I also tried to go through that magic barrier one time, but I couldn’t handle it. After I had the totem I realized I was never going to complete the other trials on my own. So yes, I lied.”

This was a risky move, even to Hugo’s usual standards. He wasn’t sure how Varian would react to the truth, or at least, most of the truth.

Varian slowly nodded, not saying anything for a bit. “...Well, thank you for being honest.”

Hugo realized he’d be holding his breath. “That's all? Aren’t you mad?”

Varian shrugged. “Not really. I already guessed most of what you said, it's just nice to connect the dots.”

Hugo raised a brow. “And you're just going to let me come along?”

Varian nodded. “I can’t deny it… you’re really smart. We’re definitely going to need your help. So if we work together to get there, you can have your knowledge for money and I’ll do what I want to do.”

Hugo pushed away the idea of what Donella would do with the Eternal Library and nodded. “Sounds fair.”

Varian stretched. “You just need to tell Yong the truth now.”

Hugo started. “What?! The kid would sooner throw me in the freezing water!”

Varian nodded, before he started heading back in. “Good luck with that.”

Hugo quickly followed. “Oh come on! We could easily just keep up with ‘my sick little sister story’.”

“Story?”

Hugo bristled, turning and seeing Yong, who’d come above deck from another exit. Yong glared at Hugo sharply. Hugo glanced over to Varian for help, but Varian only gave him a patient, expectant look.

Hugo sighed loudly and awkwardly explained to Yong his story.

Yong was furious as expected and immediately demanded Hugo throw himself off the ship, before going over all his suspicions.

“Why aren’t you angry!?” Yong finally asked Varian, following him below decks to the galley for food.

Varian took a bowl and filled it with some very nasty porridge. “We need him Yong.” He said calmly, trying to concentrate on Yong rather than the gross food. “You know how smart he is. These trials are only going to become more difficult and we will need his help.”

“But!” 

Varian shut Yong down. “Yes, you’re right, his intentions are terrible, but they also won’t interfere with our own plans. So if we work together we’ll all get what we want and can go our separate ways.”

Yong was unable to argue this and quietly stewed as he ate his breakfast.

Hugo ended up sitting with them, waiting to hear Yongs final verdict. His angry silence only made him more nervous. He tried to get some idea of what was happening from Varian, but Varian held up a stony calm expression. So they choked down the food in relative silence.

Finally Yong took a breath and furiously brandish his spoon at Hugo’s face. “You are taking the dangerous part of this next trial, got it?”  
Hugo held up his hands in surrender and nodded. “Got it.”

A small smile grew on Varian’s face and he gave Hugo a knowing look.

Only a few hours later, the weather began changing drastically. Warm topically air started blowing in and they all went up on deck to defrost and keep a look out for their destination. A small group of islands finally appeared and they were dropped off on one of the largest. It was wonderfully warm and sandy with little palm trees all over.

“Are we sure the second trial is here…?” Hugo asked.

Varian finally cracked open his journal, referring to the back where there were many hand drawn maps. “It should be on the north side of this island.”

Hugo peeked over Varian’s shoulder, taking in as much of the notes that he could see, but Varian quickly shut the book again.

Yong quickly sat in the sand making a little well near the water before taking out a small rock and a thin metal needle. Carefully he magnetized the needle and placed it in the water on a small scrap of paper so it would float. Immediately, the needle pointed them north. 

“Very clever!” Varian praised Yong. He couldn’t help but be constantly impressed with the kid's ingenuity.

They made their way across the island until they spotted a small makeshift house and a very tanned old man making some food over a little fire pit outside. He was skinny as a rod, mostly bald with a very long scraggly grey beard.

He stared at them in surprise. “Visitors?” He asked.

Varian answered. “We’re looking for the Water Trial?”

The man looked all the more surprised. “Really? Well! It's been many years since anyones came here for the trial! At least fifteen, perhaps twenty!”

Varian’s heart skipped a beat. “Who were the previous people from then?”

The man shrugged. “Two women. They looked around, asked a few questions and then left.”

Varian couldn’t help but feel excited, realizing his mother had been here. But something else was starting to connect for him. His mother hadn’t completed any of these trials. He thought of the totem in his bag. She would have taken the totem with her if she had. Perhaps she was only studying them before she planned to make an attempt.

The man snapped him from his thoughts as he urged the small group to follow him.

They were led to the entrance of an underground bunker of sorts. The man stopped them before they went in. “Only one of you can go with me.” He instructed.

Yong smirked, looking over to Hugo. Hugo only rolled his eyes.

Varian quickly pulled out his journal again. “Wait wait! My mother wrote some notes for this trial. ‘The Water Trial teaches Dissolution, but also Erosion. You will need a sharp and calm mind to complete this trial'.”

“Anything else?” Hugo asked.

Varian shook his head. “That's all that was written in here.”

“Helpful.” Hugo mumbled sarcastically before heading down into the bunker.

“Good luck!” Varian shouted after him.

Yong sat down. “Well, hopefully if he fails, we’ll have a better shot of finishing it.”

Varian gave Yong a look.

Underground was a small room made entirely of stone. It was somewhat dark and quite empty other than some piles of sticks in the corners. The man showed Hugo the next totem. It was a small blue sphere sitting high up on the wall in a little shelf. It was encased in glass and a magic barrier surrounded it.

“The barrier will disappear once it's completely covered in water.” The man explained. “Stand here,” he asked, pointing at a little marked spot on the floor. “And the glass is made of sugar.”

Hugo moved where he was asked. “Ah, so the sugar will ‘dissolve or erode’ in water. Easy. And where exactly am I going to get this water?”

“Oh that shouldn’t be a problem.” The man insisted. “One last thing before I start the trial. Are you ok with the possibility of dying from this trial?”

Hugo stared, waiting for the man to laugh, but he continued to look serious, waiting for an answer. Hugo failed to see how this puzzle could be dangerous. “Yeah, sure.” He answered. 

“Right! Good luck. Stay right there please.” The man hurried above ground and pulled a large lever. Immediately a massive metal grate covered the entrance and a trap door just behind Hugo snapped open. A pair of shackles launched out of the opening and snapped themselves around his wrists. 

“What?!” Hugo exclaimed.

Small holes in the wall quickly started gushing water, splashing all around the room.

Hugo looked around in a panic and finally took notice of the piles in the corners. They weren't sticks, they were human bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! I can't promise fast chapters, but I haven't abandoned this story! Summer is crazy busy for me, but I'm hoping things will slow down as winter approaches.  
> Keep up with the comments! They help inspire me to write! TvT

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my fanfiction of Varian and the Seven Kingdoms. The original story came from two of the storyboard artists from the tangled series, Kaityn Ritter and Anna Lencioni. You can find their stuff on their tumblrs, Brace+aim, Bannanerbread and Kritterart. I read through their outline of their story and fell in love, deciding I wanted to tell it in written form. This is a fanfiction, so it may not 100% follow the outline, but I’ll stay fairly true. There are also other people writing out this story and I highly recommend you read those as well (Two I know of: TheGreatAndPowerfulZucchini IFoundYouJustineTime) Hope you enjoy my telling of the story!
> 
> This robbery idea was not entirely original. IFoundYouJustineTime had the idea first! I asked for their permission :)  
> Please check out their work too!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24356191/chapters/58734247


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